Have you caught the gacha game bug? (or, why not?)

[Lauren Morton]

Hey PC gamers, welcome back to another week in the chat log! This week Mollie and I wanted to take stock of the state of gacha games on PC, not least because she can't seem to stop playing one. So we called in Tyler Colp, who also spends lots of time in the grind. Though we know gacha games didn't get invented just this decade, it does feel like they exploded in popularity here in the PC gaming space with Genshin Impact. There have been tons of other choices since then, from Hoyoverse itself and other developers: Honkai Star Rail, Tower of Fantasy, Wuthering Waves, Zenless Zone Zero, and even more.

Have you caught the gacha game bug? Which one got you? (or, why not?)​

Mollie and Tyler are both more dedicated MMO players than I am, I think, so they've both been sucked into the treadmill of dailies and grinding and character unlocks pretty easily. Having that routine where you know a game inside and out can be really comforting. Personally, I hit a wall in Genshin when the free currency stopped flowing and when I realized that the way it handled multiplayer just wasn't going to be as collaborative as I wanted. If I could chill and make progress with friends, I might have stuck around longer. If there's any truth to this rumor Mollie mentioned that Hoyoverse's next game will be something in the vein of Animal Crossing though, maybe they'll finally snag me.

 

[Brian Boru]

where you know a game inside and out can be really comforting

I see the appeal of that, but it only works for me in a couple of scenarios:

♣ Game is a quick time filler—eg I have well over 2,000 levels of Picross Touch under my belt, each in 1-5 minute bites.

♦ There are loads of options, customization and variety in the gameplay which can make each visit a new experience—eg Civilization, Far Cry 6.

time in the grind

Grind I can tolerate for a while if it has a strategic purpose—eg crafting superior something. But if it's just to advance the game, no thanks—I abandon almost all my Civ games around halfway when managing all the cities is mainly a chore.

free currency stopped flowing

As a Patient Gamer, that would be totally against my religion

 

[Zloth]

Consider a game of slot machines. You pull the arm and, depending on the results, you get rewards. Imagine if that reward were just points. You would sit down next to a few friends, and you would each pull 20 times. Whoever gets the most points wins. Anyone want to play? Probably not. Why? Because, by themselves, slot machines are DULL! There's no skill, there's no tactics, just straight-up randomness.

And yet they get lots of business in the casinos when you throw in the gambling aspect. People will sit in front of them for hours! A perfectly dull game made fun by gambling.

Now I look at these gacha games. Clearly, the gambling aspect is there. I'm certain these games are far more interesting than slot machines but, when I see them using a crutch like gambling, I think it's pretty likely that the game needs the help. It's the same with a game that throws around a lot of nudity or extreme violence. It could be that some of the games are fun all by themselves, but I don't really want to root them out.

 

[Brian Boru]

by themselves, slot machines are DULL! There's no skill, there's no tactics, just straight-up randomness.

Well…

How about match 3 games then? I play a few that have skill components—Storm Tale 2 in Limited Moves mode is best I've seen for what it's worth—but there are also those which are very similar to slots, eg original massive hit Bejeweled… I'm not familiar with later iterations, if there are any.

There's some kind of soporific reward at work in such cases, which makes the completely predictable activity become mesmerizing for hours.

But yeah I agree in general—I have no interest in flies crawling up the wall unless I have a bet on one of them

 

[Colif]

heard of them, no idea what they are... looks...

So, what is a Gacha game? “Gacha” comes from the Japanese word “gachapon” - an onomatopoeic term connecting the sound "gacha” for the hand-cranking action of a toy-vending machine, and "pon" for the toy capsule landing in the collection tray.

“Gacha games” are a type of mobile game that involve players spending in-game currency or real money to obtain random virtual items, characters, equipment, or units through a virtual lottery or “vending machine”, often in the form of randomized rewards known as "gacha pulls" or "loot boxes."

What is a Gacha Game? Everything you need to know | FamilyKeeper

FamilyKeeper

familykeeper.reasonlabs.com

Ahh... mobile games.. pass
Spending real money.... bigger pass.
if I wanted to waste my money buying pixels I would have bought an nft (lol)

AAA already bad enough, they saw this bad example of mobile "gambling" games and wanted their slice from the captive audience that plays their games. How dare we only pay once for their products we rent off them? Fifa is a gacha game, its how it made them want loot boxes in everything.

 

[Brian Boru]

no idea what they are

The English translation of Gacha is of course Gotcha.

As you can see, they share a common language root, namely the Macau dialect of Lasvegasese.

You're welcome.

 

[Frindis]

Have you caught the gacha game bug? Which one got you? (or, why not?)​

I tried Genshin/Star rail when it launched and the free currency that you mentioned was one of the main reasons I wanted to try it out. The world in Genshin looks nice and I did explore some of the world. Honkai: Star Rails world was not that interesting, but the combat was a bit more fun. When I was met with the wall of "give me more money or you won't progress" I stopped playing and flipped them the finger.

The biggest concern I have for these types of games is that they are extremely manipulative when it comes to getting you to gamble. The age rating does not make it any better either, as both kids/teens can easily get into these games and get introduced to gambling mechanics. They also make it much easier for you to win big when you first start the game and this is a typical strategy to get people hooked. With their own launchers and "Facebook" themed social platforms you can join, it makes it even easier for them to manipulate the user and find what makes the user tick.

 

[steeleman21]

Afraid it's a hard pass from me. A short answer but I tend to avoid any game with an emphasis on heavy grinding or relies on RNG/luck based systems, just personal preference - I just don't find it particularly fun or engaging 🤷

 

[Zloth]

The English translation of Gacha is of course Gotcha.

No no no, that's if the source is Sanskrit! (English and Sanskrit are pretty similar, ya'know.)